Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing: Melissa Maygrove Writing Tips on Dialogue and Editing

Hello and welcome to the J.Q. Rose blog. This week our author tipster is Melissa Maygrove.  Melissa says she loves books with unpretentious characters and unforgettable romance, and she strives to create those same kinds of stories for her readers. She did just that with her book, Come Back, just released last spring. 

You have an opportunity to win  a $15 gift card to Amazon and a signed paperback of Come Back (US) or Kindle e-book (US or international). All of this goes to one winner! Thank you, Melissa! Enter at the Rafflecopter at the end of this blog post. 

# # # #

Congratulations, Melissa, on the release of this intriguing historical romance, Come Back.

What question do you get all the time from budding authors?

One thing I encounter often with budding writers is the fear of showing their work to others. Some remain closet writers for years. It’s never easy to receive criticism, however constructive, but you must if you want to reach a level of quality worthy of publication. My writing improved greatly once I joined a good critique group.

If you’re serious about making progress, investigate the various critique options and writing groups available to you. (I prefer swapping critiques online, but doing it in person in a local group is fine, too.) When you find a group that you think will be a good fit, give it a try. It might take some trial and error to find compatible online partners or a group that suits you, but don’t give up.

J.Q.-I really like your point on finding a critique group. Because of the the support of my Koffee Kuppe critique partners, I submitted my first e-book, Sunshine Boulevard, and signed a contract for publication. 
What writing tips do you have for us today on dialogue and editing?

DIALOGUE

Many writers find dialogue difficult to write, and poorly written dialogue can ruin an otherwise good story. It has to sound natural, not stilted. And although it can contain errors (if it fits the speaker) or changes in spelling that show accent or dialect, it can’t be so full of such things that it’s difficult to read.

When writing dialogue:

• Make it sound natural. Think about how people speak to each other. We often use contractions, and we don’t always speak in complete sentences. 
• We also don’t tell people things they already know. Don’t use dialogue to info-dump.
•  Make sure your word choice fits the character (heritage / country of origin, background, educational level) and the time period if you write historical novels. Use an etymology dictionary to check words and phrases if you’re unsure when they were coined.
•   When writing dialect or accent, less is often more. Add enough to give the reader the flavor of the speech, but don’t go overboard. It’ll make for difficult reading, especially if it’s for a main character who has a lot of lines.
•   And be consistent. If your character makes particular grammar mistakes in his speech (because he’s uneducated, for example), have him do it consistently in his lines and in his thoughts.
•   Don’t be afraid to let punctuation work for you. A dash at the end of a line indicates an abrupt interruption, while ellipses indicate a trailing off. Trusting such marks to convey pacing can save you some (unnecessary) action beats and make the reading experience better.
• When you’re done with a scene, read it aloud to see how it sounds.

1.      EDITING

My best editing tip is: writers—even those who work as editors—cannot edit their own work. You could do a hundred read-throughs of your manuscript and still not catch all the mistakes. At the very least, get your story checked by a competent proofreader before you publish.

# # # #

Western Historical Romance

Adult / New Adult

 Sometimes a single choice 

alters the course of a person's life forever.

 Buy Link:  Amazon

# # # #

About Melissa:

Native Texan Melissa Maygrove is a wife, mother, nurse, freelance editor, and romance writer. When she's not busy caring for her tiny nursery patients or shuttling teenagers back and forth to after-school activities,

Author Melissa Maygrove

she's hunched over her laptop, complicating the lives of her imaginary friends and playing matchmaker. Melissa loves books with unpretentious characters and unforgettable romance, and she strives to create those same kinds of stories for her readers.

Visit Melissa's author site to find out about her and her books. 

Sign up for Melissa's newsletter here. She doesn’t send them often, only when there is important news, such as a new release.

If you're an author, do you offer a newsletter for readers? If you're a reader, do you like to keep in touch with your favorite writers via newsletters? Please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway